Head coach Mike MacIntyre of the Colorado Buffaloes leads his team against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors at Folsom Field on Sept. 20, 2014, in Boulder. The Buffs defeated the Warriors 21-12. (Doug Pensinger, Getty Images)

When Colorado football coach Mike MacIntyre was asked this week during his final weekly news conference about CU’s defense, the glass-half-full optimist came up with a positive take:

“One of the things that will help us (in the future) on defense is we played a lot of guys,” MacIntyre said. “We have a lot of players coming back with more experience.”

But there was a lot more about Colorado’s defense in 2014 that deserves harsh criticism and, likely, some offseason adjustments.

Statistically among Pac-12 teams, Colorado ranked 11th in scoring defense, 11th in total defense, 12th in rushing defense, 11th in pass-efficiency defense and it tied for last with Washington State for fewest interceptions with three.

“We’ve got to get bigger and stronger at defensive end,” MacIntyre said. “They have to put on 10-15 pounds. They have to go from benching 280-300 pounds to benching 350-400. We have to make that type of progress athletically.

“Defensively, we have to keep looking at our scheme. We have to look at things that hurt us, that happened. Was it schematically? Or was it mistakes? Are we not teaching them well enough? Is it (lack of) experience?

“Those are things we’re working on,” he added. “Schematically, is everything we’re doing on defense the best for the Pac-12? Some of it is. Some of it might not be. We’ll go back and look at offenses in the Pac-12 and see what we can do to fit things best.”

Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson had butterflies before Sunday's game against the Detroit Red Wings. It wasn't because of the big-name opponent, but rather his return from a 13-game injury absence and being stoked to rejoin a team in a playoff push and looking for its third postseason appearance in 10 years.